SpaceX Wins JCSAT
Commercial Launch Contract (Source: SpaceX)
SpaceX was awarded a contract with SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. of Japan to
launch the JCSAT-14 communications satellite to a geostationary
transfer orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2015. “SpaceX
looks forward to working with SKY Perfect JSAT on this mission,” said
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and COO. “As Asia’s largest satellite
operator, we appreciate JSAT’s confidence in our ability to reliably
deliver their satellite to orbit.”

JCSAT-14 is a Space Systems/Loral (SSL) telecommunications satellite
that will succeed and replace JCSAT-2A, providing coverage to Asia,
Russia, Oceania and the Pacific Islands. With 26 optimized C-band
transponders and 18 Ku-Band transponders, the satellite will extend
JCSAT-2A’s geographical footprint and address fast-growing mobility
markets across the Asia-Pacific region. (1/10)

Drone Industry in Florida
Sees FAA Decision as Only Slight Setback (Source: Orlando
Sentinel)
The drone invasion of Florida has been postponed, but probably not for
long. Although the state lost a bid last week to become a federal
testing ground for drones, Florida officials spun the loss as only a
temporary setback and said the Sunshine State already is on its way to
becoming a hub for unmanned aircraft, better known as drones. "Florida
is committed to developing the capabilities and the environment for
this industry to come here, operate here and thrive here," said Frank
DiBello, president of Space Florida.

The quasi-state agency spent about $1.4 million last year in the hope
that the Federal Aviation Administration would choose Florida as one of
six sites the FAA would use to practice flying drones in U.S. airspace.
Once largely a military tool, drones increasingly are seen as a
valuable resource for business. Compared with helicopters and
airplanes, they're cheap to build and fly. Even small drones can handle
jobs such as monitoring crops for a farmer or photographing homes for a
real-estate agent.

One industry study estimated that the drone business could have an
economic impact of more than $82 billion nationwide by 2025. Although
Florida lost its chance to be an FAA test site — to applicants in
Alaska and Nevada, among others — DiBello and other backers said the
decision is hardly a mortal blow. The sites that won can begin drone
flights as soon as this summer, but the FAA award doesn't include any
federal funding. Nor does it place any significant restrictions on
states looking to independently nurture their own drone industries.
(1/10)

Space Station Orbit to be
Screened Live on British Television (Source: BBC)
A live broadcast featuring a complete orbit of the International Space
Station (ISS) is to be aired later this year, Channel 4 has announced.
The show, hosted by Dermot O'Leary, will link live to the astronauts
from mission control in Houston as they make a 90-minute circuit of the
Earth. The ISS, which orbits 250 miles above the Earth, will send back
High Definition live images of the planet. (1/10)

Bill Nye Asks Obama for
Space Money (Source: Byte & Chew)
Bill Nye, the Science Guy, along with the Planetary Society, are here
and they’re asking the commander-in-chief for $1.5 billion to support
planetary exploration. He reasoning is irrefutable. Bill Nye suggests 3
great reasons. Firstly, that the discovery of non-Terran life would
fundamentally change history. Secondly, the race to explore would
require tech we don’t have yet, which would create new industries,
boost business and lift the economy much like the Apollo program in the
1960s. (1/9)

U.S. Navy Document Asks:
What Would Captain Kirk Purchase? (Source: Blastr)
Somewhere deep in the byzantine U.S. Navy bureaucracy, a hardcore Star
Trek fan has found a job purchasing seriously scary electronic warfare
technology. Or at least that's the simplest conclusion after reading a
document recently posted to the federal government's contracting
website. Either that or Capt. James T. Kirk really has scored funds for
photon-torpedo jammers and cloaked-ship detectors.

The goal of the Navy's Electronic Warfare program is "to control the
Electro-Magnetic Spectrum by exploiting, deceiving, or denying enemy
use of the spectrum while ensuring its use by friendly forces." But as
any veteran will tell you, before you can go charging into the
battlefield, digital or otherwise, you've got to fill out a lot of
paperwork. Click here.
(1/9)

US Military Satellites
Vulnerable in Future Space War (Source: Russia Today)
US military satellites could be disabled or destroyed in the event of a
war in space, an American general has said, citing China’s tests of
anti-satellite weapons. To protect US space capability, the satellite
park should be reformed, he believes. American satellites are
defenseless against a possible attack in space, and their destruction
“would create a huge hole” in the country’s capability for high-tech
warfare, Gen. William Shelton, the commander of the US Air Force Space
Command said.

According to Shelton, most critical are the satellites providing the US
Army with survivable communications and missile warning. But each of
those $1 billion satellites could be easily blocked or destroyed by
anti-satellite systems developed in countries like China.

While electronic jammers could be “a cheap and effective way of
blocking our signals from space” and laser attacks could “blind” the
satellite imaging or even render it dysfunctional, “direct attack
weapons, like the Chinese anti-satellite system, can destroy our space
systems,” Shelton stressed. (1/9)

Surprising New Class of
“Hypervelocity Stars” Discovered Escaping the Galaxy
(Source: Vanderbilt)
An international team of astronomers has discovered a surprising new
class of “hypervelocity stars” – solitary stars moving fast enough to
escape the gravitational grasp of the Milky Way galaxy.

“These new hypervelocity stars are very different from the ones that
have been discovered previously,” said Vanderbilt graduate student
Lauren Palladino. “The original hypervelocity stars are large blue
stars and appear to have originated from the galactic center. Our new
stars are relatively small – about the size of the sun – and the
surprising part is that none of them appear to come from the galactic
core.” (1/9)

ESA Governments Approved
Reduced Budget for 2014 (Source: Space News)
European Space Agency (ESA) governments have approved a budget of 4.1
billion euros ($5.7 billion) for 2014, a 4.2 percent decline from 2013
mainly due to a sharp reduction in funding expected from the European
Union’s executive commission. The 20 ESA governments’ investment in the
agency will remain flat this year from 2013 at 3.12 billion euros. (1/9)

In command on the flight deck of SS2 for the first time under rocket
power was Virgin Galactic's Chief Pilot Dave Mackay. Mackay, along with
Scaled Composites' (Scaled) Test Pilot Mark Stucky, tested the
spaceship's Reaction Control System (RCS) and the newly installed
thermal protection coating on the vehicle's tail booms. All of the test
objectives were successfully completed. (1/10)

DOD Rocket Launches
Scheduled Jan. 14 From Virginia Spaceport (Source:
SpaceRef)
Three Terrier-Orion suborbital rockets are scheduled for launch between
1 and 5 a.m. EST January 14 for the Department of Defense from NASA's
launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The backup
launch days are January 15 through 18. The rockets, which
will be launched within a 20-second period, may be visible to residents
in the mid-Atlantic region.

At the request of DoD project managers, no real-time status updates
will be available. The launch will not be shown live on the Internet
nor will launch status updates be provided on social media once the
countdown begins. The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will not
be open for viewing the launch. (1/10)

Will Florida's 2014
Launch Manifest Grow Beyond 10? (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Cape Canaveral Spaceport hosted 10 launches per year In 2011, 2012,
and 2013. So what will 2014 bring? Thus far there are 14 Florida
launches on the manifest maintained by SpaceFlight
Now, four each for Atlas and Delta and six for Falcon. (All
Atlas and Delta missions are for U.S. government customers, while three
of the Falcon missions are for commercial customers.) But 2013 was also
expected to include 14 launches, only to have technical and schedule
issues delay some missions into 2014. Meanwhile, SpaceX's
internal manifest for 2014 includes about a dozen Falcon
missions that could be launched from Florida. (1/10)

Com Dev Builds a Backlog
Despite Slowdown in U.S. Defense Spending (Source: Space
News)
Satellite component builder Com Dev of Canada on Jan. 9 reported a
modest increase in revenue but a 26 percent increase in backlog for the
12 months ending Oct. 31 and said its commercial satellite business is
flourishing even as its U.S. division suffers from defense budget cuts.

The commercial outlook is so favorable that Com Dev announced it would
begin paying a shareholder dividend this year even as it scouts for
acquisition targets among smaller satellite-component builders. The
company’s majority-owned exactEarth business, which is building a
global satellite-based maritime identification network, grew revenue by
23 percent in 2013 and expects to report similar growth this year, Com
Dev said. (1/10)

Could Scotland House
European Spaceport? (Source: BBC)
The north of Scotland is being considered as a possible base for a
European spaceport. Supporters say the base could be used by companies
taking tourists into space, as well as to launch satellites. Space
tourism is moving closer to becoming a reality, with Virgin Galactic's
maiden flight due to depart from New Mexico in a matter of weeks. Click
here.
(1/10)

Dream Chaser’s European
Deal Points to Multi-Role Ambitions (Source:
NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The new European allies of Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser have
officially announced “cooperative understandings” that not only combine
a transatlantic engineering boost for the baby orbiter, but may also
result in Dream Chasers hitching rides atop an Ariane rocket. More
importantly, the announcement provided extra details on the vehicle’s
future ambitions.

The vehicle’s ability to launch both crewed and uncrewed, to various
orbital freeways and destinations has won the affections of numerous
entities, in turn providing a level of financial security, in the event
Dream Chaser fails to win continued NASA funding from the Commercial
Crew Program (CCP). The outline of the agreement is centralized on the
potential application of European technologies to both the current
Dream Chaser design, and advanced derivative versions of the vehicle.

Jan Woerner of the German space agency (DLR) appeared to confirm
studies into launching Dream Chaser on an Ariane rocket. “It could even
be possible to launch the Dream Chaser – with some minor changes – from
within the fairing,” Woerner said, clearly citing an unmanned mission
for the spacecraft. “But that would mean the Dream Chaser would have to
be changed a little bit, because the wings are a little bit too big.
“Or we could put it on top of the launcher, like it is with Atlas V,
but then we would have to recalculate all the aerodynamics.” (1/10)

First CASIS-Sponsored
Payloads Launch to Space Station (Source: CASIS)
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is proud to
announce its first sponsored research payloads have launched to the
International Space Station (ISS) on board the Orbital Sciences Corp.
Cygnus cargo capsule. This launch marks a historic moment for the
nonprofit responsible for promoting and managing research on board the
ISS U.S. National Laboratory, as a variety of investigations under the
CASIS manifest are aboard Cygnus.

Orbital was selected by NASA to begin ISS resupply flights under the
Commercial Resupply Service contract which authorizes eight missions to
carry approximately 20,000 kilograms of cargo to the station over time.
On its test flight in September 2013, the Cygnus capsule transported
three CASIS-funded education payloads from the Student Spaceflight
Experiments Program (SSEP). However, this flight signifies the first
major payloads that CASIS brokered through its own outreach activities.
(1/9)

Groups Plan Washington
Legislative Blitz on Feb. 23-25 (Source: NSS)
The 2014 SEA Legislative Blitz is a few short weeks away. You can
actually visit Congress and make your vision for space known!
The National Space Society will be participating in the Space
Exploration Alliance (SEA) 2014 legislative blitz in Washington DC. NSS
encourages all members to sign up for and participate in the SEA Blitz.
Click here.
(1/9)

Never Give Up, Never
Surrender! (Source: Huggington Post)
I applied with NASA to become an astronaut 15 times. That's right, 15
times. Once per year, for 15 years, I dutifully submitted all of my
application information to the governmental monolith I revered, only to
be rejected by a few choice words on a small, white, NASA-addressed
postcard. Kicked to the curb 14 of those 15 years, I was finally
selected in 1998. I felt like the epitome of "never give up, never
surrender."

It's time for America to do the same with her space program. It is time
for all of us to step up and proclaim that we will "never give up and
never surrender" our pre-eminence in space leadership. It is time for
us to contact our representatives and voice our opinions that NASA is
worth it. Yes, there are naysayers out there; people who believe that
NASA is its own intergalactic "collapsing star," where U.S. tax dollars
disappear like rays of light into a black hole's event horizon, with
little to no visible benefits. (1/9)

U.S., French Governments
Close on SSA Data Accord (Source: Space News)
The U.S. and French governments are expected to sign a finalized space
situational awareness (SSA) data-sharing agreement this year, hopefully
by spring, according to an official with the French Embassy. The two
sides already have a preliminary framework SSA agreement that was
signed in 2011.

Once the finalized pact is concluded, France would join a growing list
of nations that have signed bilateral SSA data-sharing accords with the
United States. These countries include Japan, Italy, Australia and
Canada. France’s main SSA asset is the ground-based GRAVES radar, which
was originally fielded as a low-cost technology demonstrator but has
proved useful for tracking and identifying large objects orbiting at
altitudes up to 1,000 kilometers. (1/9)

Earthly Politicians Seek
Roadmap for Space Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
Seeking to boldly go where few politicians have gone before, ministers
and officials from more than 30 space-faring nations gathered here
Thursday to draw up a map to explore the stars. The US State Department
hosted the talks, bringing together high-level envoys from both
American allies and from countries traditionally seen as rivals in the
race to conquer space.

"We all share a deep stake in extending humanity's reach further into
the solar system, advancing innovation further and faster and extending
the benefits of discovery to more people in more places," Deputy
Secretary Bill Burns said. Countries such as Brazil, China, Japan,
India and Russia have all sent delegations to the first ever such
ministerial-level meeting focusing on space exploration.

While many countries already work together on space projects such as
the $100-billion International Space Station, the aim is to set out
guidelines for global cooperation for future efforts to explore deep
into our solar system, and maybe even beyond. (1/9)

Wisconsin Astronaut Uses
Space Expertise to Train Others (Source: Duluth News
Tribune)
Col. Jeffrey Williams, a NASA astronaut from Winter, Wis., is preparing
for his fourth flight to the International Space Station in 2016. As he
prepares, he’s training others for orbital flight. Williams has logged
almost a year in space on three flights since 2000. But he’s focusing
on helping other astronauts and cosmonauts from Japan, Russia, Canada
and half a dozen European nations to get ready for a Soyuz mission.

Williams conducts training in Houston; Star City, Russia; and Baikonur,
Kazakhstan. “There’s a lot of little details that folks appreciate
knowing about in advance,” Williams said. Williams said the last leg of
training is in Baikonur, the once-secret launching site of Sputnik
satellites. They start with a fit check in the Soyuz capsule. Much of
his expertise is technical, but some of his advice is down-to-earth.
“Don’t take yourself too seriously,” Williams said. “Stay humble. Enjoy
the experience. Be safe, be deliberate. Keep your alert level high.
Keep your guard up. Be a team player. Build the team.” (1/9)

NASA, Boeing Test Space
Launch System Software (Source: WAFF)
NASA and its aerospace partners are planning beyond the end of the
International Space System's service life in 2024. They are developing
a rocket at the Marshall Space Flight Center called the Space Launch
System (SLS) that should take them to an asteroid, the moon, and Mars.
Specifically, NASA and Boeing unveiled the central nervous system of
the new rocket - the avionics hardware - and the software that controls
it.

The cutting-edge, state-of-the-art navigation system will guide the SLS
from pre-launch well into space. Its brains are borrowed from the
latest and most advanced spacecraft flying. That helped engineers get
well ahead of schedule and not have to re-invent the "ring." The
software that engineers are using integrates all the functions in the
rocket, so in simulations, they are literally throwing all sorts of
scenarios at the rocket to test its capability and response ahead of a
critical design review in a few months' time. (1/9)

Energia Taps Sea Launch
for Dual-satellite Mission (Source: Space News)
Sea Launch AG, in a rare dual-satellite mission, will launch the
AngolaSat telecommunications satellite and the Energia 100 broadband
satellite aboard a Sea Launch rocket in the first half of 2016, Sea
Launch President Kjell Karlsen said Jan. 9. The contract was signed in
2013 but the mission was listed with an unnamed customer on Sea
Launch’s manifest.

Energia is majority owner of Bern, Switzerland-based Sea Launch. The
Kaliningrad, Russia-based company is also a major space hardware
builder and in recent years has been trying to crack the commercial
satellite business. Both satellites are being manufactured by Energia,
which is responsible for securing the launch services as well. (1/9)

Falcon 9 v1.1 Appears on
Fast Track To Qualify for Air Force Missions (Source:
Space News)
With its successful launch of the Thaicom-6 commercial
telecommunications satellite Jan. 6, Space Exploration Technologies
Corp. (SpaceX) appears to have met the U.S. Air Force’s requirements to
bid for national security launches and challenge the market incumbent,
United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Denver.

While SpaceX has not received formal certification to launch
operational national security satellites aboard its Falcon 9 v1.1
rocket, Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command,
said he has not seen anything from the vehicle’s three flights to date
to prevent that from happening. (1/9)

Chamber Banks On
Spaceport In 2014 (Source: KRWG)
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions recently released a
report on the state of the workforce.“New Mexico lags in economic
trends…some thought that we may be rebounding…same way in economic
decline.” Bill Allen, CEO of the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce echoes
this statement. “I think in our area, we were late to get into the
recession and as a result I think we were coming out of the recession.
I’m hoping that 2014 is a better year…I actually think it will be.”

For 2014, Allen is relying on one project in particular to boost
southern New Mexico’s economy… Spaceport America. "From the chamber’s
perspective…small business council…allocate resources to the Spaceport
opportunity in and of itself.” Other than what local businesses could
make from a project that shoots for the moon, Allen is betting on what
stars…that is…celebrities…can bring to the area. (1/9)

Congress Renames NASA
Flight Center After Armstrong (Source: Collect Space)
Lawmakers have renamed NASA's primary flight research center to honor
the first man to walk on the moon. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday (Jan.
8) passed a bill that redesignates the space agency's Dryden Flight
Research Center in southern California the "NASA Neil A. Armstrong
Flight Research Center." (1/9)

'Hand Of God' Spotted By
NASA's NuSTAR Space Telescope (Source: Space.com)
Religion and astronomy may not overlap often, but a new NASA X-ray
image captures a celestial object that resembles the "Hand of God." The
cosmic "hand of God" photo was produced when a star exploded and
ejected an enormous cloud of material, which NASA's Nuclear
Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, glimpsed in high-energy
X-rays, shown in blue in the photo. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
had imaged the green and red parts previously, using lower-energy
X-rays. Click here.
(1/9)

Fort Campbell Soldier
(and Embry-Riddle Student) Makes Mars First Cut (Source:
Leaf Chronicle)
A Fort Campbell officer received what she considers the most important
email of her life on Monday morning, when she was informed she had made
the first cut of applicants for the Mars One project. Heidi Beemer, a
first lieutenant with Fort Campbell’s 63rd Chemical Company, was among
only one-half of one percent of people chosen from an international
applicant pool of more than 200,000 seeking to become the first humans
to establish a permanent space colony on another planet.

Altogether, 1,058 applicants remain from over 120 countries, with the
biggest pool being in the U.S. Beemer, 25, has been waiting for the
opportunity to become a “Martian” since she was 8 years old and saw a
newspaper article about a Mars Rover mission. How did it feel to get
the email that might make her lifelong dream come true? “Oh man,” she
said with uncharacteristic emotion, “it was so great. (12/31)